Ureaplasma: one of the causative agents of sexually transmitted diseases

Article written by BSCKII Nguyen Thu Hoai - Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Vinmec Times City International Hospital.

Ureplasma is a group of bacteria that are very small in size, cannot be seen with an optical microscope, causing infection. This is one of the causative agents of sexually transmitted diseases.

Ureplasma is a group of microscopic bacteria residing in the respiratory, genital and urinary tracts, most of which participate in the normal microsystem of the human body. However, in some cases, when there is an imbalance of the microflora, a weakened immune system, the overgrowth of these bacteria will cause inflammation of the body's healthy tissues, which in turn can cause infections.
According to a study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology (2015), the prevalence of Ureplasma infection in the population is 1%. This is a group of bacteria that are very small in size, cannot be seen with an optical microscope, do not have a cell membrane structure like normal bacteria.
The body is infected with Ureaplasma through sexual intercourse and transmission from mother to child, ureplasma enters the body in the vagina or urinary tract, or enters the respiratory tract, blood when the fetus is in the mother's womb or when born.

The main symptom of Ureplasma infection is a sign of the urinary tract, men or women may have the following manifestations: Pain, burning when urinating; burning sensation when urinating; abnormal discharge ; For women, there may be a lot of wetness, an unpleasant odor in the vagina; pain during sex; bleeding after sex; swelling of the genital organs; epigastric pain. Ureplasma infection increases the risk of kidney stones, premature rupture of membranes or respiratory disease, sepsis in the newborn.
Currently there is not much medical evidence linking ureaplasma infection with increased infertility, however, ureaplasma increases the risk of developing the following problems in pregnancy: premature rupture of membranes, rupture of membranes premature amniotic fluid, preterm birth, chorioamnionitis, bacterial infection of amniotic fluid, placenta, low birth weight, postpartum endometritis
Ureaplasma test specimens can be obtained from cervical canal fluid, vaginal discharge, Urine samples, endometrial biopsy, male urethral fluid. Due to the small size that cannot be observed under the optical microscope, the preferred test is the high-precision PCR technique currently applied at some hospitals, including Vinmec Hospital. Test results are available within 3-5 days, with high sensitivity and specificity.

Ureplasma treatment method is medical treatment with antibiotics. Currently, 2 groups of antibiotics are recommended to be used, namely Azithromycin or Doxycycline. A special feature of this bacteria is that they do not have a cell membrane, so antibiotics do not disrupt the cell membrane. Currently, the state of drug-resistant Ureaplasma is increasing, so the treatment needs to be done early, according to the right regimen. .
The prevention of ureaplasma infection as well as early detection of the disease caused by this bacterium is very important. So how can ureaplasma infection be prevented?
One method to tackle the spread of this type of infection is to practice safe sex by wearing a male or female condom. Maintaining good sexual health can help reduce the risk of long-term damage or repeat infections, it's best to regularly schedule STI screening as many STIs are asymptomatic so if left unchecked you will don't know if you are living with this disease and help get timely treatment. If you have the unusual symptoms described above or have unprotected sex with multiple partners, you should get tested as soon as possible.
Computerized CTG and its role in pregnancy management
According to the development of medicine, there are more and more modern means and devices to help monitor and manage pregnancy safely. One of the tools to help effectively support obstetricians is the CTG machine, which helps monitor contractions and fetal heart rate, supports the assessment of fetal status during pregnancy, and assesses the status of threatened preterm birth. , which helps support safe labor monitoring. Pregnant women are usually measured weekly CTG from week 36, or measured when there are abnormal signs from 22 weeks or more.
Although very important, the reading and resolution of previous CTG monitoring results were completely performed by medical staff, so there are deviations depending on the qualifications and experience of the staff health and is affected by many objective as well as subjective factors. In particular, some parameters of fetal heart rate cannot be discerned with the naked eye, especially short-form intrinsic oscillation, an essential indicator for evaluation of cases of intrauterine growth retardation. early detection of fetal distress and alert medical staff. Especially with cases of intrauterine growth retardation, the decision on the time to terminate the pregnancy requires important parameters from the computed CTG in addition to the Doppler ultrasound assessment of the fetal blood vessels. The determination of computerized CTG monitoring for pregnant patients with growth retardation is routinely performed in Obstetrics and Gynecology centers around the world.
Currently, at Vinmec Times City International Hospital, a computerized CTG machine has been used to monitor at-risk pregnancies. At the same time, the device helps to measure many parameters of mother and fetus: Fetal heart rate, fetal movement, maternal pulse, maternal blood pressure, SpO2. After a certain period of time, which can be very short from 15 minutes or more, the machine will analyze the indicators of the mother, the fetus and especially 10 indicators of the fetal heart rate. The machine will give the doctor the parameters of the fetal heart rate, the number of fetal movements measured, the number of fetal movements felt by the mother, the transient increase in the fetal heart rate, the long-form internal oscillation, the internal oscillation. in short form... Especially with an extremely large data source, the machine helps to analyze indicators and give risk warnings, more accurately assess the status of pregnancy, thereby helping doctors have direction to handle and monitor continue to provide support to pregnant women, intervene at the right time (not too early, not too late...), help increase safety when managing pregnancy, especially high-risk pregnancies.


Multi-price test kit for sexually transmitted diseases
There are many pathogens that cause sexually transmitted diseases . If not diagnosed and treated promptly, many cases of sexually transmitted diseases greatly affect the reproductive function of both men and women.
However, many times the symptoms of infection are atypical, and many people have no symptoms at all. In the past, when examining patients with signs of infection of the genital organs or urinary disorders, the gynecologist would rely on clinical symptoms, ask the patient or take a quick smear test to test vaginal discharge. , thereby targeting some pathogenic bacteria and can give additional tests to identify 1 or 2 suspected bacteria. However, in cases with no clinical symptoms or poor clinical symptoms, or in cases of physical examination to screen for STDs, it is very difficult to identify the type of bacteria causing the disease, not find any effect. cause persistent diseases, difficult to cure, cause complications, reduce quality of life ....
Currently in Vietnam, although the rate of sexually transmitted diseases is increasing, most facilities do not practice Full tests are now available due to lack of equipment. At Vinmec Hospital, we run a test kit that can detect 8 types or 16 types of bacteria that cause vaginal infections. Just take the vaginal fluid for testing, after 3-5 days, the doctor has information about the bacteria causing the disease. Not only vaginal discharge, male urethral fluid, female urine can also be used for diagnosis. The bacteria and viruses that can be detected in the kit are divided into 3 main groups:
Common pathogenic bacteria: gonorrhea, trichomoniasis ..., can be detected through a fresh smear of vaginal discharge. However, in some cases, the rate of occurrence in the specimen is very low, so it is necessary to take samples from many sites (eg, gonorrhea requires cervical fluid, blood smear, urethra, skene gland, ..) or must Under a black background microscope, it is easy to see as the spirochetes Treponema Pallidum Bacteria are very small, not detectable on light microscope: Mycoplasma genitalium, Mycoplasma hominis, Ureplasma urealyticum, ureaplasma parvum Viruses : Super small size, if tested by rapid test based on immune response to antibodies, the accuracy is not as high as PCR test: Herpes simplex virus type 1, Herpes simplex virus type 2, Cytomegalovirus, Varicella - zoster virus . The multi-price test kit made at Vinmec Times City uses PCR technique, the sensitivity and specificity of the test kit is over 90%, this is a really effective test to help diagnose early and accurately from That helps doctors have appropriate treatment, use the right antibiotic to hit the patient's target. Vinmec International General Hospital offers a Package of Examination and Screening for Social Diseases to help customers detect diseases early and have effective treatment and prevention of dangerous complications. The screening package for social diseases at Vinmec is for all ages, both men and women.